President Bola Tinubu has announced the implementation of a new national living wage to support Nigerian workers.
Acknowledging the collective effort required to build a prosperous nation, he extended a call to action to all Nigerians, including political opponents, to work together for the country’s progress.
See full text below:
Dear Compatriots,
It gives me immense joy to welcome each and every one of you – young and old- to this brand new year 2024. We must lift up our hands to Almighty God, in gratitude, for His grace and benevolence to our country and our lives in the year 2023 that has just gone by.
Though the past year was a very challenging one, it was eventful in so many ways. For our country, it was a transition year that saw a peaceful, orderly and successful transfer of power from one administration to another, marking yet another remarkable step in our 24 years of unbroken democracy.
It was a year, you the gracious people of this blessed nation, entrusted your faith in me with a clear mandate to make our country better, revamp our economy, restore security within our borders, revitalise our floundering industrial sector, boost agricultural production, increase national productivity and set our country on an irreversible path towards national greatness that we and future generations will forever be proud of.
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The task of building a better nation and making sure we have a Nigeria society that cares for all her citizens is the reason I ran to become your President. It was the core of my Renewed Hope campaign message on the basis of which you voted me as President.
In my 2024 Budget presentation to the National Assembly, I listed my administration’s 8 priority areas including national defence and internal security, job creation, macro-economic stability, investment environment optimization, human capital development, poverty reduction and social security. Because we take our development agenda very seriously, our 2024 budget reflects the premium we placed on achieving our governance objectives.
We will work diligently to make sure every Nigerian feels the impact of their government. The economic aspirations and the material well-being of the poor, the most vulnerable and the working people shall not be neglected. It is in this spirit that we are going to implement a new national living wage for our industrious workers this New Year. It is not only good economics to do this, it is also a morally and politically correct thing to do.
I took an oath to serve this country and give my best at all times. Like I said in the past, no excuse for poor performance from any of my appointees will be good enough.
It is the reason I put in place a Policy Coordination, Evaluation, Monitoring and Delivery Unit in the Presidency to make sure that governance output improves the living conditions of our people.
We have set the parameters for evaluation. Within the first quarter of this new year, Ministers and Heads of Agencies with a future in this administration that I lead will continue to show themselves.
Fellow Nigerians, my major ambition in government as a Senator in the aborted Third Republic, as Governor of Lagos State for eight years and now as the President of this blessed country is to build a fair and equitable society and close the widening inequality. While I believe the rich should enjoy their legitimately-earned wealth, our minimum bargain must be that any Nigerian that works hard and diligent enough will have a chance to get ahead in life. I must add that because God didn’t create us with equal talents and strengths, I cannot guarantee that we will have equal outcomes when we work hard. But my government, in this New Year 2024 and beyond, will work to give every Nigerian equal opportunity to strive and to thrive.
For the new year to yield all its good benefits to us as individuals and collectively as a people we must be prepared to play our part. The job of building a prosperous nation is not the job of the President, Governors, Ministers, Lawmakers and government officials alone. Our destinies are connected as members of this household of Nigeria. Our language, creed, ethnicity and religious beliefs even when they are not the same should never make us work at cross purposes.
In this New Year, let us resolve that as joint-heirs to the Nigerian Commonwealth, we will work for the peace, progress and stability of our country. I extend this call to my political opponents in the last election. Election is over. It’s time for all of us to work together for the sake of our country.
We must let the light each of us carries – men and women, young and old – shine bright and brighter to illuminate our path to a glorious dawn.
I wish all of us a happy and prosperous year 2024.
May God continue to bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR
